How Ikea Uses Drones to Improve Efficiency, Cut Costs and Transform its Supply Chain

Ikea’s challenge with inventory management

When it comes to the use of drones in supply chain management, you might think that last-mile delivery would be the killer app. But, as empty skies reveal, flying parcel delivery robots have yet to go mainstream. To discover where industrial drones are making their mark, you need to look inside, rather than outside, the warehouse.

Drones have the potential to revolutionise supply chain management, offering a range of benefits to companies that adopt them. While last-mile delivery is one of the most commonly discussed use cases for drones, it’s important to note that this application is still in its early stages and has yet to be widely adopted.

Instead, drones have found a significant role in improving inventory management within warehouses. By using drones to scan and count inventory during non-operational hours, companies can gain accurate and up-to-date information about their stock levels. This has several benefits, including improving the accuracy of product availability, reducing out-of-stock situations, lowering operational costs, enhancing the wellbeing of workers, and allowing companies to become more agile and responsive to customer demand.

One company that’s gone big on drones within the warehouse is Ikea…

Ikea’s use of drones for inventory management

Ikea is one of the world’s largest furniture retailers, with over 400 stores in 52 countries. The company is renowned for its low-cost, flat-pack products that customers assemble themselves. However, managing its massive inventory of millions of items across its warehouses and stores is a complex challenge.

To address this issue, Ikea has turned to drones. The company has partnered with Verity, a drone-making company founded by one of the creators of Amazon Robotics, to deploy autonomous drones that can scan and count inventory in its warehouses during non-operational hours.

The drones take off from charging stations and fly around the warehouse, capturing images, videos, and 3D depth scans of the pallets and bins containing Ikea’s products. The…